Without a formal process for vetting machines, officials in nearly 30 states were charmed by presentations from top e-voting vendors such as Diebold, ES&S, Sequoia and Hart InterCivic, which were happy to step in and provide their own brand of expertise. For them, HAVA meant sales.
In virtually every state, officials failed to invite outside technical experts to participate in the process of e-voting machine selection. Without input from the tech-savvy, elections officials did what most consumers do when they go to an electronics store to shop for a new gadget: They listened to what the salespeople said and hoped they were telling the truth. |